Bulgaria's 'Pebble Beach' to host top European golf event

Nicolas Colsaerts will defend his World Match Play title at a new European Tour venue in May.

Story highlights

Bulgaria will host a full European Tour event for the first time in May 2013

The World Match Play tournament will begin a new rotation of venues

Its sponsor Volvo is seeking to take it to areas of business interest

European Tour circuit moves to China this week for a newly-sanctioned event

The European Tour has long sought to grow golf outside the continent, taking top players around the world to Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while its second-tier circuit even visited South America this year.

Its latest bid to break new ground -- the largely untapped golfing market of Eastern Europe -- has been driven by the desires of one of its major sponsors.

One of the tour's premier events, the World Match Play Championship, will next year move home from economically-stricken Spain to Bulgaria -- which doesn't have a player ranked in the world's top 1,500 professionals, but has attracted car manufacturer Volvo.

"Volvo was the first company to bring a European Tour event to China and we are the first to take a full European Tour event to Bulgaria, as Eastern Europe is an important business area for us," the Swedish corporation's president of event management said on Monday.

"We are very proud to still be delivering ground-breaking innovations as we mark our 130th professional golf tournament. Everyone at Volvo looks forward to welcoming Bulgaria to the 'family' of exclusive host destination partners."

The tournament was staged at England's Wentworth from 1964 to 2009, and this year was the last at its second home at Finca Cortesin.

The world's best golf courses 13 photos

The world's best golf courses13 photos

Trump International Links – Hailed by owner Donald Trump as "the world's greatest golf course," the American's new Scottish project mixes breathtaking views from elevated tees with classical links bunkers and wild rough. Dramatic, tall sand dunes frame many of the photogenic holes at Trump International. The true test of the course's standing will be its longevity and whether it matures into a stern test of championship golf.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Cypress Point – Consistently ranked as one of the very best, if not the best course on earth, Cypress Point is a small, private club on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula in California. Originally designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1928, several of its picturesque closing holes play alongside and over the Pacific Ocean.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Augusta National – Famed for hosting the annual Masters tournament, the exclusive Augusta National was the brainchild of the most successful amateur golfer of all time, Bobby Jones. He recruited MacKenzie to design the course in 1933 after seeing his handiwork at Cypress Point. The result has become one of the world's most recognizable and colorful sporting venues.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Pine Valley – The first and only course designed by George Crump, Pine Valley is set in relatively featureless New Jersey countryside. Since opening in 1919 it has been considered among the most perfect and varied challenges in golf.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Old Course, St. Andrews – According to historians, a form of golf has been played over the links land outside the quaint Scottish coastal town of St. Andrews since the 12th century. Not necessarily the most dramatic or challenging course, but the natural beauty and history of "The Old Course" make it every golfer's "must play."

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Royal County Down – Set at the feet of Northern Ireland's majestic Mountains of Mourne, Royal County Down opened in 1889 and was given royal patronage almost 30 years later. Exposed to winds from the Irish Sea, the rugged sand dunes are covered by purple heather and yellow gorse. A fierce debate rages over its relative merits versus County Antrim's Royal Portrush.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Royal Melbourne – One of few top-ranked courses outside the U.S. and UK, the Royal Melbourne layout was also crafted by MacKenzie. It is the oldest golf club in Australia and famed for its bold bunkers blending into the natural rolling land of the Melbourne Sandbelt.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Pebble Beach – Routed along the crags of Carmel Bay, Pebble Beach opened in 1919 and has hosted five U.S. Opens. Boasting some of the most dramatic panoramic views in golf, it is the most highly-rated U.S. course that accepts public bookings, with fees of $495 per round.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Turnberry – Built in 1901, Turnberry is a classic Scottish links, with rolling hills, sandy dunes and strong winds coming off the Ayrshire coast. Made up of three courses, Turnberry has hosted four British Opens on its Ailsa layout, most notably 1977's "Duel in the Sun" between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Royal Lytham & St. Annes – The host venue for the 2012 British Open, Royal Lytham & St. Annes is thought to be one of the oldest major's toughest courses. It lies half a mile from the Lancashire coast yet retains the feel of a classic links course, with tall rough grass and 206 bunkers guarding the rolling fairways and greens.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Cape Kidnappers – Noted for its secluded cliff-top location in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, Cape Kidnappers is a 20-minute drive from the gate on the nearest public road. Deep gullies dip down to the sea between fairways, which give spectacular panoramic views along the shore and across the nearby wine country. Only eight years old, it is one of the newest courses to consistently feature near the top of world rankings.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Shinnecock Hills – One of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association with the first specifically-designed golf clubhouse in the country, Shinnecock Hills has hosted the U.S. Open four times across three centuries. It occupies links land on Long Island, 90 miles east of New York City, but has been said to possess the windy bleakness of British seaside golf.

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The world's best golf courses13 photos

Muirfield – Muirfield is home to the "The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers" -- the world's oldest golf club, formed in 1744. The design by Old Tom Morris is considered a masterpiece, with two concentric rings of nine holes ensuring that the wind from the North Sea hits you from all angles. Small greens, deep bunkers and thick rough have made the East Lothian course one of the most revered on the British Open circuit.

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Next year's venue, Thracian Cliffs, has been hailed as Bulgaria's version of the famous American coastal course Pebble Beach.

"You will not find a golf course like this anywhere else on the planet," said its designer, South Africa golf legend Gary Player, who won the World Match Play title five times between 1965-1973.

Volvo, which also sponsors the European Tour's China Open and Golf Champions event in South Africa, said the World Match Play will be rotated in areas of interest to its business.

"We will announce future venues in due course," Ericsson said.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said it was a "real coup" to land the tournament.

"The vast media coverage will deliver a reputable boost for Bulgaria and our tourism industry. The recent growth of golf in our country will have the opportunity to be showcased around the world," he said.

"Volvo is setting a wonderful example to other international companies, as this shows they view Eastern Europe and Bulgaria as an area of interest for their future business development."

Nicolas Colsaerts, who helped Europe to win the Ryder Cup against the U.S. in a thrilling finale last month, will defend his World Match Play title at Thracian Hills from May 16-19.

"I've never been to Bulgaria but I've heard great things about the country and Thracian Cliffs," the Belgian said.

"Having won both the 2011 Volvo China Open and the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship, I think Volvo might be my lucky charm so so I hope that continues to be the case in 2013."

Colsaerts will be one of 11 Ryder Cup winners playing at the European Tour's BMW Masters in China this week, including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and his predecessor Luke Donald.

McIlroy won the inaugural tournament at Lake Malaren, near Shanghai, last year when it was a smaller event with no sanctioning but offering a $2 million first prize -- the biggest on offer in golf. This time the winner will take home €888,560 ($1.16 million)

"To go to back and win for the second time would really put the icing on the cake of what has already been a great year for me," said the 23-year-old Northern Irishman, who claimed his second major title at August's PGA Championship.

Next Monday he will take on world No. 2 Tiger Woods in an exhibition match at Jinsha Lake Golf Club in Zhengzhou.